A Rogue Photographer
by NephilimEQ
Summary: Eli Quail is a photographer for the Capitol...and he happens to see something that no one else does. Between two very unlikely people.


**A Rogue Photographer**

Eli Quail made his way through the throng of people, ignoring all of the other garish costumes, attempting to get a shot of the elusive Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, as well as their mentor and previous Victor, Haymitch Abernathy.

He had been hired by the biggest news proprietor of the Capitol to get exclusive shots of the three Victors at the grand gala that was being held for the end of their Victory Tour.

A flash of a broad smile and blonde hair, along with a simple, subtle black suit and red vest underneath, and Eli knew that he'd found Peeta.

Quickly, he winked his right eye and took a picture. That one was worth at _least_ a few thousand credits in the correct market, especially to his fans in the eleven to thirty age bracket; they would pay nearly _any_thing for photos of him alone.

He had seen the boy earlier with the Girl on Fire on his arm when they had entered the mahogany lined library, but had rarely seen them together since, so he had been snapping as many photos of the boy alone all evening, mentally seeing his credits rising exponentially with every single photo that he took…but then, he spotted _her._

There she was, all alone.

Now, there wasn't as much call for her photos, due to her controversial attitude towards the Capitol, but a few wouldn't hurt, Eli thought to himself.

He sidled past Plutarch Heavensby, the new Gamemaker, but suddenly she was no longer alone, and was, once again, glued to Peeta's side, her arm seemingly locked in a death grip around the boy's, as they stood next to their stylists. Flavius and Octavia, he remembered.

Eli let out a long-suffering sigh at seeing them all together, not worth a single credit for no one wanted photos of the _help_, and nearly turned away, but as the boy whisked her onto the dance floor only a few moments later, he stuck around, deciding that a few shots of the Victors dancing wouldn't hurt and would probably sell fairly well not just in the Capitol, but to anyone in the first few Districts who bothered to have their own newspaper or video feed.

And then Plutarch arrived and whisked her away for a few moments as well, and Eli watched carefully, recognizing the action as more than a bit out of the ordinary.

The Gamemaker didn't associate with Victors, let alone previous ones…so what was he doing here? And talking to her with a faint grin on his face as though he knew a secret that he was dying to tell?

He decided to simply let it be, and simply went after some other photos.

A few minutes later, he went back…and saw something that he wasn't expecting.

In a corner hidden away from the rest of the crowd was Katniss Everdeen…dancing with Haymitch Abernathy? Now _that_ was a shot to make him a few hundred thousand credits. He snuck around the back of the long table, and was pleased when he found another angle, more ideal to capturing the look on their faces…

…and he was stunned into disbelief.

For the first time, _ever_, he was seeing Katniss Everdeen smile. For real.

He was a photographer and knew the difference between a fake smile and a real one, and hers was on the side of reality for the first time that he'd ever seen.

He was frozen for all of two seconds, before acting. He started snapping photos as quickly as he could, moving around them and getting as many shots as possible. Haymitch Abernathy was saying something, and Eli was close enough that he could tell that Miss Everdeen's response was a sarcastic one, and a snarky smile appeared on her mentor's lips in response to her words. Eli strained to get closer so that he could hear what they were saying…

"…and the colors? A bit too many feathers, for my taste. She might as well put the whole flock on her hair; she's already got more than half of it there..."

That was Haymitch.

Miss Everdeen smiled and laughed, and said, "Yeah, well, you know Effie; she always has to be making the trends, even if no one is following them…"

And suddenly Haymitch was smiling as well.

Eli couldn't believe his luck.

He kept on snapping photos and snuck a bit closer, listening to more of their conversation. They bantered back and forth about the extreme styles of clothing and hair, and Eli was fascinated as he then heard them talking about what it was like back in District 12. He knew very little about that District, as he had grown up in the Capitol, but hearing what they were saying made him feel…well, almost _guilty_.

As one of the waiters stopped to offer him some food from a tray, for the first time in his life he declined the offer, suddenly feeling an unsettling sense of morality overcome him after listening to the two Victors from District 12. Well, technically there were _three_ Victors, but he and everyone else knew that if everything had happened the way that it was supposed to, Katniss Everdeen would have won, hands down.

He looked back towards them and a faint smile appeared on his lips as he snapped the next few shots in quick succession, his guilt gone, snagging a glass of champagne from a tray in the process. The man had swung her out into a twirl and the way that they looked, combined with the expressions on both of their faces…well, now _that_ was a set of shots that would sell.

Her black and red dress swirled around her legs, blurring into a vague color in between; her hair was coming loose from its severely tight braid, making her look as though she had just been in a hurried and rushed romantic interlude only moments before, and her slightly smudged eye makeup only added to the effect. However, her eyes were sparkling and one corner of her mouth was quirked up into an amused, wry grin, giving an overall look of someone who was actually _happy_.

Haymitch's eyes held the same amusement, but there was also something else behind them as well, that Eli couldn't quite place, as he twirled the Girl on Fire in a circle in the privacy of their tucked away corner.

He spun her a few more times and then, all too soon in Eli's opinion, the dance was over, and Katniss Everdeen moved to walk away from her mentor, and Eli Quail started to leave as well…but then he turned back his head just in time to see Haymitch suddenly reach over and grab her by the wrist and pull her in towards him, in a movement almost too fast for his eye to follow. Katniss was now pressed up against the older man's chest in an almost intimate way, but that was just ridiculous…

…Eli suddenly choked on the sip of blueberry champagne that he'd taken only moments before.

Haymitch had just kissed her.

Not a chaste peck on the cheek, as might be expected, but on the lips! Eli managed to find his breath as he took several more photos, wondering if he'd actually seen what he had just seen, but the widening of her eyes and the look of shock as he let her go and disappeared behind some foliage told him all that he needed to know.

He stared at the female Victor and snapped one last shot.

Eyes wide, pupils dilated, hair mussed, and her lips barely parted with her lipstick smudged, made for a shot that he would never sell, not for _any_ price that was put before him.

Eli quickly looked around himself, making sure that no one else had seen what he had just seen, and then stepped towards her, snapping yet another shot.

If the Gamemaker knew about this…well, he could make their life hell. Normally, Eli would be the first one to crow over a breaking of the rules, but after listening to the two of them, he decided it would be best if he kept his mouth shut. They were both Victors anyway; what it could it really hurt? Eli had always figured that the whole Katniss and Peeta thing was too good to be true, anyway. She had never seemed as…_invested_ in it as the pretty bread-boy.

_Beyond_ curious, he watched the Girl on Fire as she put herself back together, tucking in the stray strands of hair back into the braid and absently fixing her makeup in the reflective surface of a nearby black marble obelisk that stood near the private enclave that she and her mentor had been using for their unexpected interlude.

He watched a bit longer…and was rewarded for his waiting as he saw her press the fingers of her right hand to her lips, a faint smile appearing beneath them.

Yes, he had seen it, and she had obviously felt it.

Eli smirked to himself.

Maybe he could give her the photos someday. Until then, however, he would hide them, keep them someplace that the Capitol would never find them. Who knew, maybe he would be around after the inevitable fall. Unlike so many others at the Capitol, he knew that it was coming and that it was inevitable, and that she would most likely be the cause of it.

Tapping his forefinger to his temple, he turned off his camera and slipped back into the crowd.

That was enough pictures for one night.

* * *

**A.N. - I'm unsure if I should write an epilogue, but if you gave me some ideas, I just might... ;) Also, just so you know, I have injured my foot, so I will be writing a *lot* over the next few days! Hope to see some lovely reviews from my most wonderful and dedicated readers. *hint hint* Hope you enjoyed it!**


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